Obstetrical needle



Jan. 25, 1955 M, 'oRTgz' 2,700,385

QBSTETRICAL NEEDLE Filed Oct. 23, 1951 [M FIG.8

FIGB F IG.4 F|Gl5 INVENTOR United States Patent C) OBSTETRICAL NEEDLE Mariano Ortiz, Roxas City, Capiz, Republic of the Philippines Application October 23, 1951, Serial No. 252,740

Claims priority, application Republic of the Philippines July 10, 1951 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-215) The invention relates to an instrument or apparatus consisting of a needle within a sheath, for injecting medicinal substances into the interior of a hollow organ of the human body, specially the uterus, accessible through its orifice to the instrument subject matter of this application; and its principal object is to inject, in a safe, quick, and easy manner, medicinal substances that constrict the uterus, such as neogynergen, pituitrin, ergotin, directly into the uterus through the vagina, principally in cases of postpartum hemorrhages, so as to constrict said uterus and stop the hemorrhage generally in less than five seconds after in jection.

I am aware of methods employed in stopping postpartum hemorrhages like abdominal massage; pressure of the abdominal artery; subcutaneous injection of constricting solutions such as neogynergen, pituitrin, ergotin; tamponing; pressing the uterus against the pubis by the hand inserted into the vagina; injection in the abdominal wall of the constricting solutions referred to above; injection of said constricting solutions with a long needle inserted through the anterior wall of the vagina near the anterior surface of the uterus; incision of the abdomen until the anterior surface of the uterus is reached, for the injection in this region of said constricting solutions; but in none of these methods have the abovementioned constricting solutions been directly, safely, quickly, and easily injected into the uterus so as to stop the hemorrhage in less than five seconds.

Other objects of this invention will be disclosed in the specification forming a part of this application.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a view of the needle;

Figure 2 is a lateral or side view of the sheath and its handle;

Figure 3 is a front view of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is Figure 2 with the needle and syringe in place;

Figure 5 is a front view of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a view of part of the handle of the sheath showing the flexible band or ring 9 when open;

Figure 7 is Figure 6 after the ring 9 is closed over the syringe Figure 8 is a view of the modified tip 5 of the sheath seen from all angles when held vertically; and

Figure 9 is a cross-section of tip 5 of Figure 8.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar parts are designated by like numerals:

Numeral 1 designates the needle connected to the lock 2.

Numeral 2 designates the lock which connects the needle to the syringe 10.

Numeral 3 designates the free end of the needle that protrudes from the sheath.

Numeral 4 designates the sheath proper.

Numeral 5 designates the extreme end of the sheath, which end may also be called a button.

Numeral 6 designates the handle of the sheath.

Numeral 7 designates a part of the handle 6 which serves as a support for the index finger of the operator.

Numeral 8 designates the free end of the handle which, for the better manipulation of the apparatus, will be held by the fourth and little fingers of the operator.

Numeral 9 designates the flexible metal band or ring that holds the syringe 10 in place in a groove of the handle 6.

Numeral 10 designates the syringe.

. canal of the uterus.

to permit the insertion of the needle.

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This invention comprises an injecting needle (Fig. 1), a syringe 10, and a sheath with a handle (Fig. 2).

The needle is of fine metal or alloy. It is fine like needle No. 23 commonly used. It is slightly curved to follow the direction of the sheath 4 which will be described below. One end of said needle is sharp-pointed and the other end is fixed to a metal lock 2. Said lock 2 is the means of connecting the needle to the syringe 10. It is approximately 15.5 centimeters long such that, by inserting completely the needle in the sheath 4 until the lock 2 is flush with the opening of the sheath 4, the pointed end 3 of the needle protrudes from the tip or free end 5 of the sheath by five millimeters more or less.

The syringe 10 is made of glass similar to those now in use in injecting solutions to the body.

1 'ih; needle is connected to the syringe by means of the The sheath is made of metal or alloy, or of plastics. It is also curved to follow the direction of the cervical It is necessarily hollow and round Tip 5 of the sheath is pear-shaped in plan and flat in elevation, rounded at the corners, and blunt at the end, as seen in Figures 2 and 4, in order that it shall not scrape the tissues along its way. Viewing the instrument from the front (as in Figures 3 and 5), the tip or button 5 of the sheath is of the same thickness as that of the sheath itself.

It has been related up to here that the apparatus, the tip of the sheath of which has been enlarged to form button 5, is used in the uterus, particularly in cases of postpartum hemorrhages. However, in cases in which the points of entry of certain cavities of the human body are narrow, a modified form of the invention may be used. The modification consists only in reducing the size of the tip 5 of the sheath, such that, instead of pear-shaped, it becomes sphere-shaped, of a size slightly larger than the diameter of the sheath.

The sheath proper 4 is about fifteen centimeters long, from its opening to its tip.

The sheath has a handle 6 of the same material as the sheath proper. It is slightly shorter than the syringe to be used. It is adequately grooved to accommodate the syringe. At about three centimeters from the free end 8 of the handle, there is a flexible metal band or ring 9 (better seen in Figs. 6 and 7) which encircles the syringe and prevents it from slipping or being dislodged from the groove of the handle. The ring is a metal band one end of which is free While the other end is permanently fixed to the handle. The ring may also be a solid strip of metal made completely circular and permanently fixed to the handle.

For the easy and sure manipulation of the instrument, a trigger-like part is provided in the handle to give support to the index finger of the operator (numeral 7). The free end 8 of the handle is bent downward as appears in Figures 2 and 4, which shall be held between the ring and little fingers of the operator.

Numerous variations may doubtless be devised by persons skilled in the art without departing from the principles of my invention. I, therefore, desire no limitations to be imposed on my invention, except such as are indicated in the claims.

The best procedure to follow is:

The syringe, solution to be injected, and the needle put in their corresponding places, the orifice of the cervix of the uterus is located by the index and middle fingers of the operator introduced into the vagina. These fingers will guide the tip or button 5 of the sheath with the pointed tip 3 of the needle hidden within the sheath. With his other hand, the operator introduces the sheath in the cervical orifice until it reaches the placental zone. The tip of the sheath now inside the uterus is then directed towards the lateral wall of the uterus until its tipmost part (through which the tip 3 of the needle passes when pushed) comes in direct and relatively firm contact with said lateral wall. This is accomplished by manipulating the handle of the sheath. At this juncture, the needle is immediately pushed through the sheath completely by pushing the syringe until the lock 2 will become flush with the opening of the sheath. The needle will penetrate the lateral wall of the uterus to the extent .of the length of tip 3 of the needle which is limited to five millimeters, since the needle, from its base at the lock 2 to its tip, is longer than the sheath, from its opening to its tip, by approximately five millimeters. After the needle tip has penetrated the lateral wall of the uterus as just described, the medicinal substance or solution in the syringe is promptly released through the needle to the part of the body being injected.

The precaution taken to give the protruding end 3 of the needle a length .of only five millimeters in order to avoid the unfortunate accident of piercing the uterine wall by injecting the needle in any part of the intestinal surface of the uterus, has proved itself satisfactory to me; I not having yet met with any such accident. But to avoid such perforation with greater certainty and particularity, I would like to call the attention to the fact that, although the protruding end 3 of the needle is limited to five millimeters, and is considered shorter than the supposed thickness of the inert uterus, it is preferable to direct the tip 5 of the sheath toward one side of the uterine Wall, and not toward the fundus, in order to push the needle in a direction oblique to said lateral Wall.

'It is to be noted further that the flat surface of the tip or button 5 of the sheath should be applied against the uterine wall so that the protruding end of the needle would penetrate said lateral wall in its entirety, that is, the five-millimeter needle tip 3.

Before withdrawing the apparatus or instrument, the needle should be retracted a little so that its protruding end will be hidden entirely by the sheath, thus avoiding scratching of flabby tissues by the needle on its way out.

My invention has uses other than those described above, such as the injection of other medicinal substances in other cavitiesurinary bladder, pharynx, rectum, etc. As already stated, I place no limitations to my invention other than those indicated in the following claims- What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for injection, the combination of an arcuate injecting needle, having a sharp-pointed end at one extremity and a lock at the opposite extremity, a glass syringe, and a similarly curved sheath; said needle in sliding engagement with the sheath; one end portion of the sheath enlarged and apertured for the protrusion of said sharp-pointed end of the needle when said lock of the latter is flush with the aperture on the opposite end thereof; said sheath including a handle member provided with a metallic band in order to prevent the syringe from slipping or being dislodged from the groove of said handle when the apparatus is in use.

2. In an apparatus for injection as claimed in claim 1, said arcuate sheath apertured at one end for the protrusion of the sharp-pointed end of the needle slidable within said sheath, said end of the sheath being pearshaped in plan and flat in elevation, and of the same thickness as the body portion of the sheath itself, the opposite end of the sheath also apertured and connected to a handle member provided with two projecting finger grips, a split circular metallic band, a groove on said handle wherein the syringe is positioned, and is firmly held in place by its resilient engagement with said split circular metallic band integral with said handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,248,492 Hill Dec. 4, 1917 1,845,036 Busher Feb. 16, 1932 2,389,355 Galand et al Nov. 20, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 949,989 France Mar. 14, 1949 

